Walnut filling for strudel and crescent rolls: hot milk makes it easy to spread

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Heat the milk

   5 min

   Heat the milk in a saucepan with the granulated sugar, vanilla sugar, butter, and honey. Stir until the butter melts, then bring to a boil.

2. Pour over the walnuts

   5 min

   Place the ground walnuts in a bowl, pour the boiling milk mixture over them, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. The walnuts will absorb the milk, forming a thick, moist filling.

3. Add the flavorings

   Stir in the cinnamon, lemon zest, and rum. If the filling is too stiff, add 1–2 tbsp of hot milk. If it is too thin, let it stand for 10 minutes; the walnuts will thicken it further.

4. Let cool

   30 min

   Let the filling cool to room temperature. Warm filling would heat the yeast dough, causing it to stick and tear as you roll it up.

5. Fill the dough

   Spread the filling evenly over the rolled-out dough, leaving the edges bare. This amount makes enough for two strudels or Slovak walnut rolls made with 500 g of flour, a tray of crescent rolls, or about 16 filled buns.

Tip: For a more pronounced flavor, toast the walnuts in a dry skillet until fragrant before grinding them. Stale walnuts turn bitter and will spoil the entire filling, so taste them before using. Read more: Frozen lemons: why to freeze them and use the peel

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Voňavá orechová plnka do závinu a rožkov: orechy zaliate horúcim mliekom sa ľahko roztierajú